1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for preparing a printed matter while inserting a special sheet such as a tab sheet for chapter dividing between pages, a printing data transmission method and apparatus for preparing the printed matter, and a recording medium readable by a computer, in which a printing procedure is recorded.
2. Description of the Related Art
To print a printed matter constituted of a plurality of chapters, use has been made of image forming devices having a function of inserting a special sheet for chapter dividing in a designated page position while preparing the printed matter, such as a printer and a copying machine. For the special sheet, a tab sheet for use as an index sheet for chapter dividing as shown in FIG. 1, color sheets different from one another in color, and the like are used.
FIG. 1 shows one example of a tab paper 900 comprising one set including five sheets.
The tab sheets are set in a sheet feed section of the image forming device which is different from that for recording sheets for use in usual printing, for example, a manual feed tray. In an image forming device, a sheet feeder is switched to the sheet feed section in which the tab sheets are set only when a page designated as an insertion position of the tab sheet is printed, and chapter numbers or the like ate printed on tabs 911 to 913 of fed tab sheets 901 to 903 to prepare a printed matter 920 shown in FIG. 2. For tab sheets 901 to 905 constituting one set, as shown in FIG. 1, positions of tabs 911 to 915 are different from one another, and an arrangement order of the sheets 901 to 905 in one set is determined. When the tab sheet is inserted between the pages of the printed matter, it is usual to use the sheets from the tab sheet 901 having a top arrangement order. In the image forming device, a printing position of the chapter number or the like is changed in accordance with the tab position based on this assumption.
For example, when a setting is made so as to use one set of five sheets 900 shown in FIG. 1, the image forming device adjusts the printing position onto the tabs 911 to 915 on the assumption that a length of each of the tabs 911 to 915 is ⅕ of a vertical length of each of the tab sheets 901 to 905, the tab positions of the fed tab sheets 901 to 905 change for each tab in order toward a lower end from an upper end of the sheet, and the position returns to the upper end again when reaching the lower end.
Additionally, in a case where the number of tab sheets to be inserted in the printed matter (e.g., three sheets) is not an integer times that of tab sheets constituting one set (e.g., five sheets), when the printing of the next printed matter is started as it is after printing the printed matter, or the printing of a plurality of sheets is set and, executed, the tab sheets are fed in order from the tab sheet whose arrangement order is not the top in one set in the next printed matter or second and subsequent printed matters. Therefore, the assumed tab position in the image forming device differs from the tab position of the actually fed tab sheet, and the printing onto the tab fails.
To solve the problem, an image forming device has been proposed in which it is calculated from the number of tab sheets inserted in the printed matter and the number of tab sheet constituting one set whether or not an extra tab sheet is generated, and any extra tab sheet is expelled if generated (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-361083, for example,).
In a case where the image forming device detects the generation of the extra tab sheet and expels this sheet, a user does not recognize the generation of the extra tab sheet until the sheet is expelled. Therefore, even if the user can take measures such as replacement with another set of tab sheets different in the number of sheets constituting one set, the measures cannot be selected beforehand, and the user cannot necessarily take an optimum measure.
Moreover, since the generation of extra tab sheets is detected and these sheets are expelled on the side of the image forming device, an existing image forming device that does not have such function cannot solve the problem related to the generation of the extra tab sheets.